1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for selecting and outputting a character by clenching teeth, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for selecting and outputting characters based on electromyogram generated from a temporalis muscle when a quadriplegic disabled person clenches teeth.
2. Description of the Related Art
Disabled persons have various types of impairments. Generally, a person suffered by spinal cord damage is a quadriplegia which means a person paralyzes all four limbs.
Conventionally, a quadriplegic disabled person uses a voice recognition technology to input characters in an information terminal such as a mobile phone or a computer. Also, the quadriplegic disabled person uses a long stick by biting it with his teeth and touches a target key of a keyboard to input the characters into the information terminal. Furthermore, a motion sensor is used to detect the movement of disabled person's head to input characters. In this conventional method, a mouse is controlled based on the sensed head movement, and target keys displayed on a computer monitor are selected through controlling the mouse to input the selected characters into the computer.
However, such conventional methods of inputting characters in the information terminal have following problems. The voice recognition cannot be used when a user cannot talk or when there are serious noise. Also, the method of using the long stick makes a user tired and uncomfortable because the user must bit the long stick all the time while inputting the text. Therefore, such conventional methods give greater stresses on a user's neck and jaw. The conventional method of using the sensor also makes the user tired because the mouse is generally too sensitive to control through moving the head, and it requires such a deep concentration to control them.